Teddy Bear Artist

SARAH'S BEARS OF CAMBRIDGE

"Although my parents met at Art College in Cambridge, I wasn't very creative during my school years - I hated sewing classes! Wanting to make things only came from observing my mother's creative talents and my love of soft toys. After finding inspiration in a bear-making book (and a lot of tuition/patience from my mother), my 'first-born' bear worth looking at was created about twenty-five years ago.

I put in a lot of practice and built up a collection of 'sellable' bears and animals - then applied for a stall in All Saints Craft Market (Trinity Street, Cambridge). I was thrilled to get a pitch there in 1988. After a few seasons (rain and shine) of selling various character bears including Punk Teddies and Graduate Bears, I decided to try and make them 'good enough' for resale in shops. This meant I could stay home and sew in the warm!

I have, since 1990, been making bears for resale from retail outlets as well as orders for gift buyers and collectors."

"I'm always thinking of new ideas, there is so much beautiful mohair available now to work with. Wanting to 'play' with it means that I usually make 'one-offs' or small limited editions from selected pieces of this expensive fabric. The almost infinite variety of colours and finishes spurs me on to create more different characters. However, all the 'long-running' ideas I've ever made (e.g. I've made over 150 graduate bears) have each been a bit different according to the type of fabric used.

To me, each of my bears, whatever the design, has it's own little personality and will choose the person that selects him or her from the range on view. I've often been told by collectors and bear buyers that one of my bears "gave me that look" from within a showcase or shop window! Creating something with a face that invokes that sort or reaction means I will always love making bears."